Snips and Snails and Tales: Huge Horses!!

I saw the Budweiser Clydesdales for the first time years ago, back when I worked for the local Bud distributor. I remember it was amazing. Those horses were HUGE! (I know I have pictures somewhere, but I can't find them right now. That was back when you needed film and had to take it in to be developed (which took days!) and then you had to stash the prints somewhere, too often never to be seen again. You know, back in the old days. If I can locate them, I'll post them.) It wasn't overly crowded back then, so it was really easy to get up close and see the horses. I was never a horse freak, like my niece, but it was an incredible experience.

I ran into them again at SeaWorld in '07, when Caleb was almost 2. It was unexpected. We were walking down a path, and suddenly we hear this "clopclopclopclop..." Turn around and see this fully-outfitted rig of horses, again HUGE, pulling a beer wagon. I did find a couple of the pics of them (we had stepped into the digital age by then).

Well, we got word a couple of weeks ago that the Clydes were to be in town for a weekend, this weekend, to be exact. I actually almost forgot. Our weekends are kind of busy lately, what with t-ball and everything. But luckily, I did remember and we made our way down to the Budweiser brewery after church this afternoon. We got there early, in time to see them hitching up the team. That in itself is fascinating. It is like a ritual, and it is incredible to see these huge beasts so at ease while being loaded down with the equipment. It was alot more crowded then I remember it being the first time I saw it, so we couldn't get close enough to see a whole lot. Plus, there was a fence in the way... boo. Once everyone was hitched up and ready to go, including the dalmation, they did a few rounds of the parking lot, then had a couple of hours of photo ops. Caleb wasn't feel great (neither was I, actually) so we didn't stay long. But I did manage to get a few shots of the festivities. Again, an amazing thing to see, from start to finish. The shear size of these animals is breathtaking. I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing the team in action. From the Super Bowl commercials to the live appearances, it is quite a sight to see.

I wanted to get a better picture of Caleb in front of a horse, but I was lucky to get this one. People get so rude at things like this, stepping in from of people taking pictures to take their own. I was terrified of him getting sucked into the crowd.